Destroyer [Hardcover]

Robert Kirkman is THE MAN! Coming off Marvel's Max label, DESTROYER boasts that sweet "Explicit Content" blurb on the cover, referring to the unapologetically excessive doses of violence mostly meted out by the central character. DESTROYER is NOT for kids, brother. It's certainly not for those who like to perch on those moral pedestals and spout about the wickedness of comic books. Although, okay, there's plenty of ammo here for them.

There's this joke: Late one night a man receives a phone call from his doctor. The doctor tells him, "I've got bad news and even worse news. Which do you want to hear first?" The man says, "Okay, tell me the bad news." The doctor says, "You only have 24 hours to live." The man is in shock and says, "Omigod! What's worse than that?" The doctor says, "I was supposed to call you yesterday."

I remembered that joke when I was reading this trade. Thought it'd be nice to share.

Keene Marlow is an old, old bastard, almost a hundred years old. He's already suffered two heart attacks. He is a tough old cuss. Keene Marlow is, in fact, the Destroyer, and he's stronger and faster and more invincible than most people. But he's been in steady decline for a while now, and his doctor just gave him the bad news. Marlow is dying, could croak at any day, his heart give out at any moment. It's not helping that he continues to serve his country as its go-to superhero, taking on the baddest of the bad, the worst of the worst.

Left with this ticking leash on life, Keene Marlow sets about tying up loose ends and he begins to take out all his old foes, all those who could possibly pose a threat to his family and to the world once he's gone.

And that, in essence, is the story. Except that this is Robert Kirkman doing the writing so he throws in enough of those effective quiet family moments which allow you to sympathize with the characters. But, mostly, it's about the brutal damage the Destroyer inflicts on those what did him wrong. Marlow is this cranky old man taken up to an unbelievably grand scale, and he pulls no punches. Marlow is like Brit, but amped up even more several notches. Skulls are caved in, eyeballs fly thru the air, various limbs are viciously detached, entire panels bleed red. This is all very awesome, and so over-the-top that it takes the sting off the violence. I do like that Kirkman doesn't plonk his old geezer in some tight-fitting outfit. The Destroyer goes around in practical gear, and his chest protector reminds me a bit of what Ares wears. It took me a bit to get used to his mask, though, as it was very Green Goblin-y.

There's some tongue-in-cheekery in Kirkman's choices for Marlow's rogues gallery, especially the monster called Krakoom and the Hydra ripoff, the Horde. If anyone deserves the sheer destruction Marlow visits on his targets, it's the Horde henchmen whose silly battle cry is "Let loose the hordes of Horde!!" That simply calls for a severe maiming.

Cory Walker's art, by the way, is awesome.

Putting an ultra-bloody take on an old character from Stan Lee's regime at Timely Comics (the precursor to Marvel), Destroyer is a wonderfully bloody and enjoyable dirge. Written by Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, Destroyer tells the tale of Keene Marlow, a superhero known as The Destroyer, who has learned that his long, illustrious career as a masked vigilante is coming to an end due to heart failure. At nearly a hundred years old, Keene knew this day would come eventually, so before his ticker finally gives out, he decides to eliminate anyone and everyone that holds a grudge against him or his family. Before he knows it, Keene's daughter is kidnapped by his arch enemy Scar, and it's up to Destroyer to take down the baddies once and for all. Simplistic in its storytelling, Destroyer is a fun, and sadly all too brisk, tale of enjoyable mayhem. This is made all the better by the spectacular artwork of Cory Walker, which almost makes Destroyer worth picking up on its own. All in all, whether you've heard of the Destroyer character or not, check this out. You'll be happy you did.

Keene Marlowe was once a young and majestic superhero named Destroyer back in the 1940's, but is now old and on the verge of dying due to a weak heart. He dons his costume, presumably for the last few days of his life as he hunts down the villains who plagued him his entire life and have been in and out of jail and not changed their lifestyle one iota. As Destroyer, Keene exacts his final revenge on these villains by pummeling them until their heads explode, literally. Along the way, Destroyer teams up with Turret, after Turret's wife is kidnapped by one of Destroyer's worst foes. More pummeling and over the top violence ensues and Destroyer has a chance meeting with someone big in his life.

Overall, story was decent, but seemed like it was only put under the MAX imprint to focus on excessive violence and not a read good adult oriented story. I am a fan of Kirkman's Marvel Team Up and Walking Dead, but this fell short of excellent for me.

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